BBC iPlayer hits 75 million landmark

ISPs unlikely to join celebrations

The BBC iPlayer has hit a major landmark – surpassing 75 million requests to stream or download programmes.

The BBC’s VOD project has proven to be a major success, becoming such a feature of UK internet use that it has sparked a discussion on who should pay for the extra bandwidth being consumed.

Subsidy

Some ISPs have questioned whether the BBC itself should look to subsidise the extra traffic generated for them by the iPlayer, but as the bickering continues the public have lapped up the new service.

Requests for some 21 million programmes in April – with The Apprentice and Doctor Who dominating the eRatings – showed a 20% growth month on month.

Interestingly, the iPlayer audience does show some significant differences to more traditional ones – with BBC3 programmes making up six of the top 20 downloads, boosted by the performance of award-winning comedy Gavin and Stacey.